Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10757612 | Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications | 2013 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
Female Ascotis selenaria (Geometridae) moths use 3,4-epoxy-(Z,Z)-6,9-nonadecadiene, which is synthesized from linolenic acid, as the main component of their sex pheromone. While the use of dietary linolenic or linoleic fatty acid derivatives as sex pheromone components has been observed in moth species belonging to a few families including Geometridae, the majority of moths use derivatives of a common saturated fatty acid, palmitic acid, as their sex pheromone components. We attempted to gain insight into the differentiation of pheromone biosynthetic pathways in geometrids by analyzing the desaturase genes expressed in the pheromone gland of A. selenaria. We demonstrated that a Î11-desaturase-like gene (Asdesat1) was specifically expressed in the pheromone gland of A. selenaria in spite of the absence of a desaturation step in the pheromone biosynthetic pathway in this species. Further analysis revealed that the presumed transmembrane domains were degenerated in Asdesat1. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that Asdesat1 anciently diverged from the lineage of Î11-desaturases, which are currently widely used in the biosynthesis of sex pheromones by moths. These results suggest that an ancestral Î11-desaturase became dysfunctional in A. selenaria after a shift in pheromone biosynthetic pathways.
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Authors
Takeshi Fujii, Masataka G. Suzuki, Susumu Katsuma, Katsuhiko Ito, Yu Rong, Shogo Matsumoto, Tetsu Ando, Yukio Ishikawa,